Military Prosecutor Judge Saqr Saqr charged five people with belonging to the Islamic State terror group, the state-run National News Agency said on Thursday.

The suspects include a Lebanese and a Syrian who have been detained previously, NNA said.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam stated on Thursday that the success in holding the municipal elections have thwarted allegations against the Lebanese incompetency in staging the process in a peaceful and civilized manner.

“The state and its institutions are capable of running and protecting the most challenging electoral difficulties. The municipal and mayoral elections have dropped claims that the Lebanese are incapable of holding the municipal elections,” said Salam in a speech delivered at the Arab Economic Forum held in Beirut.

Unknown assailants opened fire at a man in the northeastern town of Arsal and injured him, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.

Two masked gunmen on a motorcycle shot Omar Mohammed al-Hujeiri, 41, aka Omar al-Antar, on the al-Jamaleh road in Arsal, said NNA.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri and former Prime Minister Najib Miqati are set to meet at a “neutral venue” to discuss the upcoming municipal elections in the northern city of Tripoli, al-Akhbar daily reported on Thursday.

The two men are to meet either at the Grand Serail in Tripoli or at the residence of PM Tammam Salam.

Speaker Nabih Berri might not engage in the by-parliamentary election battle in the southern area of Jezzine against the candidate of the Free Patriotic Movement, al-Akhbar daily reported on Thursday.

“Berri, who supports Ibrahim Azar the son of a former MP, might not wage a battle against the FPM candidate, Amal Abou Zeid, in Jezzine's parliamentary by-elections,” March 8 sources told the daily on condition of anonymity.

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc boasted Tuesday that Mustaqbal succeeded in protecting “Christian-Muslim parity” in Beirut's municipal polls, a day after Mustaqbal leader ex-PM Saad Hariri accused electoral allies of voting for the rival Beirut Madinati list.

The Beirut Madinati list of independents announced Tuesday that it received 40% of the vote in the capital's municipal polls, denying claims that it received votes from certain political parties.

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri on Monday accused some parties who nominated some candidates on the Mustaqbal-led Beirutis List of “voting for other lists” in the capital's municipal elections that were held Sunday.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi helds talks Monday in Paris with French President Francois Hollande and talks tackled the issues of Lebanon's presidential void and the Syrian refugee crisis.

A grassroots campaign that aimed to take on Lebanon's paralyzed political system appeared to be heading for failure on Monday as entrenched parties declared victory in municipal elections in Beirut.

Authorities are expected to announce later today the official results for the elections held on Sunday in the capital and in two provinces in the Bekaa region.